Advanced Studies in Political Economy

Bruce Yandle is a teacher, writer, speaker, and consultant on economics and political economy. He has worked in industry, academia, and government, serving in many roles and interacting with a variety of audiences. These experiences have directly, impacted his scholarship on regulation and macroeconomic policy. Policymaking is complex. It is not simply the result of high-minded reformers seeking to do good, nor is it only the pernicious influence of special interest groups seeking to exploit the power of government. Rather, it is an often odd and unintentional combination of the two. In the early 1980s, Yandle aptly named this theory of regulation "Bootleggers and Baptists" to describe how seemingly opposing forces join, together in support of similar government policies. This theory, as well as Yandle's other scholarly contributions, has inspired generations of academics and policy analysts by advancing a nuanced yet approachable analysis of regulation. This impact is magnified by his gracious, humble, and purposeful demeanor. In honor of Yandle's 85th birthday in 2018, a gathering of colleagues and students convened to reflect on and honor his productive career and to advance research inspired by his work. This Festschrift, edited by Donald J. Boudreaux and Roger Meiners, includes original essays and reflections, drafted for and discussed at the 2018 symposium, that pay tribute to Yandle, a scholar of unusual ability as a teacher and researcher. The volume concludes with an essay by Yandle himself, looking back on his career and the state of economics and policy making today and issuing a call to action for the next generation of scholars and teachers in political economy. The Legacy of Bruce Yandle should be of interest to anyone inspired by Yandle's research as well as students, scholars, and policymakers interested in the real-world application of economic analysis to regulation and other policies.

Richard E. Wagner has spent more than five decades in academia, holding professorship and leadership positions at the University of California Irvine, Tulane University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Auburn University, Florida State University, and George Mason University. He has contributed to the fields of public finance, macroeconomics, and political economy in more than 200 journal articles and 30 books. Economics in Wagner's hands is about exchange and the institutions within which exchange takes place. As a result, much of his scholarship explores how politics, law, and society shape economic relationships. Generous and wise in his relationships with colleagues and students, Wagner is an exemplar of a lifelong learner. Through his example, Wagner continues to teach us all how to prioritize the sheer joy of learning and how to maintain a sense of urgency in our teaching, and how to avoid getting caught up in negative-sum interactions. In honor of Wagner's 80th birthday and retirement from George Mason University in 2021, a group of his colleagues and students gathered to reflect upon and honor his productive career and to advance research inspired by his work. This Festschrift, edited by Peter J. Boettke and Christopher J. Coyne, includes original essays and reflections that pay tribute to a prolific scholar whose research and teaching have profoundly shaped mainline political economy. “The Legacy of Richard E. Wagner” should be of interest to anyone inspired by Wagner's research as well as students, scholars, and policymakers interested in the real-world implications of sound economic theory.

James M. Buchanan, a prominent political economist of the 20th-century and a Nobel laureate in economics, was a founding thinker of the public choice tradition and was, instrumental in the reintroduction of politics into economic analysis. He was also an intellectual entrepreneur who developed new and innovative centers for research, graduate programs, and outlets for academic publication. Having taught at a variety of institutions, including the University of Tennessee, Florida State University, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech, he moved the Center for Study of Public Choice to George Mason University in 1983, where he remained for the rest of his academic career. After his passing in 2013, the Special Collections Research Center for the Mason University Libraries began to compile a formal archive, the James M. Buchanan Papers, documenting Buchanan's contributions to social science and his intellectual legacy. This volume, The Soul of Classical Political Economy: James M. Buchanan from the Archives, edited by Peter J. Boettke and Alain Marciano, provides a unique window into not only the man, the scholar, and the teacher, but also the fields of public choice and public economics that Buchanan advanced over his productive and esteemed career. The sections in this volume correspond to important themes for understanding Buchanan's views on political economy as a social philosophy. The editors illustrate Buchanan's views by using archival material, most of it original and previously unpublished-and offering context as a guide through the evolution of Buchanan's expansive scholarship that took place over roughly seven decades and spanned the fields of philosophy, politics, and economics. This volume is essential reading for anyone interested in Buchanan's work, in public choice theory, and in the continuing study of political economy.

For over half a century, Robert Higgs has been a trailblazer in the fields of economics and political economy, challenging the conventional paradigm of government intervention with incisive critique and rigorous theoretical and historical analysis. As the founding editor of The Independent Review, Higgs carved out an intellectual space for a freer exploration of pressing issues in political economy and policy. Over the course of a distinguished academic career, including professorships at the University of Washington, Lafayette College, and Seattle University, Higgs has authored more than a dozen influential books and over 100 scholarly articles, reviews, and policy studies. Higgs's scholarship provides unique insight into the nature and impact of real-world government policy, revealing how policies that are justified as serving the public interest can also be discriminatory and coercive. He explores the tensions and balance between safety and freedom, the manipulative use of fear to achieve policy goals, and the perils of entrusting societal well-being to "experts." Higgs's "ratchet effect" framework explains how crises can lead to permanent expansions of government power, and his concept of "regime uncertainty" offers a fresh understanding of prolonged economic stagnation during the Great Depression. This volume gathers essays contributed by esteemed colleagues and scholars that demonstrate the relevance of Higgs's ideas and insights to today's most pressing issues. The volume explores matters of oppression and repression, of market competition and empowerment, and of the warfare state's costs and consequences. The Legacy of Robert Higgs will be of interest to students, to scholars, and to anyone with a stake in human freedom and flourishing.